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rowanelisa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism
cliorr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault
Minor: Pedophilia, Vomit, and Police brutality
r0ry_'s review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Incest porn is not my thing tbh.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Incest, and Police brutality
hannah_cogo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
wetdirtreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Fatphobia, Incest, Sexism, Grief, Car accident, Abandonment, and War
chuseyin's review against another edition
Graphic: Alcoholism and Sexual violence
sir_ren's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
the novel has a rather simple story- the main plot. even though I could predict the general plot of the story (as the novel is written switching from the past and the present) it was still engaging and interesting thanks to the writing and the details. the construction of the novel- the unfolding of events and use of language make it satisfying and rewarding to see it all come together.
the "Kid Speak" used in the novel tends to be polarizing as far as I can tell. some people put the book down to never complete it due to the language. not that I am in a place to be telling anyone what to do with their time, but I would still seriously encourage readers to stick it out even if they are mildly irritated by the peculiarities. my experience is that I found it puzzling at first and then interesting, but the novelty wore off soon and it started to feel badly used. but this changed as I kept reading, the way Arundhati Roy built her novel and used language- the payoff was Real for me. the "quirkiness" of the language turned into a blessing as the novel went on. Intimacy is what I experienced again. in a novel all about this family- to speak their secret language and to have a few odd words and phrases evoke all the emotions and thoughts that they did was a moment of intimacy with the novel and its characters.
another point of contention tends to be the "villain", who some find to be a cartoonishly evil/bad person. in my opinion, the character was believable.
now for the parts I did not enjoy. the book describes or mentions a lot of the uglier sides of human nature/bodies/actions. I felt the number of instances was a little excessive. maybe one or two could have been cut and the book could still retain its integrity.
and I felt the Kid Speak could have been cut in a few places. but I am glad the language was what it was
Graphic: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Blood, Excrement, Grief, and Abandonment
Minor: Alcoholism
sunny_not's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism
ahyacinthine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Police brutality
Minor: Incest
sharkycharming's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, and Death of parent
I would not recommend this book to anyone who is squeamish, because this books describes so many realities of bodies, sex, violence, hatred, and the [sometimes scary] animals and plants that live and grow in a tropical climate.